BUSINESS INFORMATION - The International Monetary Fund (IMF), announced Thursday, the second installment loans to Latvia

BUSINESS INFORMATION - The International Monetary Fund (IMF), announced Thursday, the second installment loans to Latvia for 195.2 million euros (278.5 million U.S. dollars), to assist the Baltic countries are mired in a steep recession.

The IMF said the executive board completed the first study in Latvia's performance under the economic program supported by a standby credit of about 27-months of 1.66 billion euros (2.37 billion U.S. dollars) which was approved in December.

Latest disbursement, the IMF said, Latvia will receive a total of approximately 780.7 million euros (1.14 billion U.S. dollars).

Loans approved on December 23, "requires exceptional access to IMF resources, by 1200 per cent of Latvia in the IMF quotas," said the multilateral institution based in Washington.

Latvia's international loan package relies 7.5 billion euros, mainly covered by the IMF and the European Union to patch up the budget deficit, against devaluation, and stabilizing the ailing financial sector.

Latvia received a second loan installment of 1.2 billion euros (1.712 billion U.S. dollars) in late July from the European Union, after a billion euros in February in the European Union with a total loan commitment of 3.1 billion euros (4:42 billion U.S. dollars).

Czech Republic, Danish, Estonia, Finland, Norway, Poland and Sweden, and the World Bank, also promised funds.

EU Baltic countries 2.3 million people locked in the worst economic crisis since the freeing themselves from the provisions of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Latvia enjoyed a reputation as an economic success story, especially since joining the European Union in 2004, but after several years of double-digit growth, declined in 2008 became one of the deepest recession in 27 EU countries.

Latvian economy experienced a contraction estimated 18 percent this year.